The prior art generally includes trailers designed to carry multiple boats or multiple motor vehicles behind large commercial vehicles.
Also in the prior art are some trailers for simultaneously carrying boats and motor vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,722 to Prudhomme discloses a dual load trailer designed to carry a motor vehicle on the lower part of the trailer, with a watercraft attached to a separate boat trailer which is loaded on a collapsible frame above the motor vehicle. Since the boat is positioned completely above the motor vehicle, the center of gravity of the loaded trailer is high, thereby reducing the stability of the trailer. The Prudhomme trailer also does not allow the boat to be unloaded until the motor vehicle has been unloaded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,410 to Vencill et al discloses another trailer designed to carry a motor vehicle below with a boat mounted above on a collapsible frame. This design has the same center of gravity problem as Prudhomme. The boat also cannot be unloaded until the motor vehicle has been unloaded.
The present trailer includes an inclined boat carrying means, on the rear portion of the trailer and a set of vehicle ramps on the forward portion of the trailer for hauling a wheeled motor vehicle. The bow of the boat is elevated to allow a portion of the motor vehicle to fit under the bow of the boat, thus reducing the overall length of the trailer and lowering the center of gravity. The current invention also allows a boat to be loaded and unloaded with the motor vehicle in place on the trailer.
Other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description given herein.